Drawing Black Boxes

by Baby Rainbow   May 18, 2013


She grips on tightly to her precious black crayon,
as if it was made of gold. She harshly scribbles
on chalk-white paper, to produce a master-piece
of haunting shadows that follow her soul.

Five years old with unkempt hair,
a small weak body of skin and bones,
and worn-out rags for her school clothes.

Drawing broken hearts in boxes, as her
innocent mind tries to contemplate why
she stands out from the crowd.

Swollen eyes, bruised arms
and finger-marks imprinted
around her red raw neck.

But she relies on her black crayon
at only five years old, to tell the world her story
of her broken heart trapped in boxes.

And she hopes one day the finger-marks and bruises
will finally disappear from her red raw neck.

Saffie
22

13/5/13

0


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Latest Comments

  • 8 years ago

    by The Poet Behind The Poems

    How did i miss this.... So full of emotion here saff.... Iits heart breaking.... I love the idea of the black boxes... Think it's really creative... You really penned a piece here... Awesome

  • 10 years ago

    by BlueJay

    Oh my gosh, this piece is fantastic. Its so heartrending but amazing. I really don't know what else to say about it though, I'm sorry

  • 10 years ago

    by Wild Flower

    I read this when you posted it but I couldn't comment and it brought tears to my eyes, thats how much it touched me. I hate such things and I don't even like thinking about them. Really sad piece and deserves to be noticed.
    Great job Saffie!!!

  • 11 years ago

    by Michael D Nalley

    To be honest I was so blown away by your free flow I was well into it when I realized how powerfully it was written on such a sad and worthy theme
    5>>>>>>>

  • 11 years ago

    by Hannah Lizette

    I remember reading this in the club, and dear God...it broke my heart! Just like it does now reading it for about the fourth time! </3

    First stanza: Something so simple, a little black crayon, she treasures. It can tell her story through the color and the pictures she draws, she doesn't need words to show her sadness, she shows you in pictures. :(

    Second stanza: The neglect here absolutely tugs at your heart. The unkempt hair, the malnourished body, the ragged school clothes. I'll never understand how someone could treat their child like that. Never. My dad was a social worker and when I was little I used to always go to his office, and some of the kids I would see there with their 'parents'...more like their monsters. I would always ask them to play and share my lunch or whatever I had to eat there with them. You could see their faces light up from just simple things like that. I always wanted to be a social worker like my Dad after that.

    Third stanza: She doesn't understand why she looks different, why everyone else looks pristine while she looks dirty. And never understands why everyone is happier than her... why they are drawing with colorful crayons, drawing life of another world she envies... while all she has is a single black crayon, drawing her life...a broken heart inside a box.

    Fourth stanza: :/ This angers me, hearing of bruises and swollen eyes. The only thing holding me back from being a social worker is I'm afraid that I'd end up hurting someone, a parent... that done this to their child. I would probably... flip. I don't think I could have control over myself. It angers me so much that people could do this to an innocent child.

    Fifth stanza: Her black crayon and drawings are almost her safe haven. It's the only place she feels like she can express herself, on paper with the only color she truly likes. So very sad.

    Ending: A hopeful, heartbreaking ending. Abused children, that's all they have really... hope... that someone or something will come and save them at the end of the day. Show them love, affection, kindness...what a child should be shown.

    You penned an absolutely beautiful piece here, Saffie. It tore me into pieces along the way but I love it entirely. <3